Thanks Ben. I'm just getting acclimated to the site. This is really a cool thing; I love talking to other documentary people. While I was in New York on a project I found myself surrounded by a ton of documentary professionals, but in Los Angeles I'm a little out of the loop. Do you have any advice or particular topics you think I should check out to interact with West Coast doc people?

Oh wow, I just noticed that one of your hosts Doug Block worked on Esther Robinson's film about her uncle Danny and the Warhol factory. Esther was sooooo helpful on a previous project and we worked closely with her and her editor Shannon. I guess it truly is a small world...

Welcome to all these new faces to D-Word. Look around and stay awhile. And a special shout out to Suree. I was the curator of the Council on Foundations Film Festival last year and your film was one of the selected films. I was very impressed by the degree of outreach you had already achieved with the film to non-traditional audiences and still talk about it with filmmakers who are just starting out. Hope you'll share some of your experiences maybe in the Distribution Topic.

Brendan, good to have you here. Esther is one of my best friends and we go way back – she helped produce my doc Home Page, for which I created a running blog back in 1996 called The D-Word. In late 1999, when the film's distribution life started to peter out, The D-Word took a different turn . Funny how it all works out and, yes, it is a pretty small world.

Thanks for the welcome, all! And to Erica...that's great to hear. We wanted to go to the Council on Foundations, but it was a little difficult to make it, so thanks for the feedback. I'll check out the distribution topic boards and would be happy to share our experiences. We're still working on distribution (mostly university/foreign/small groups now), but I appreciate the thoughts you share (usually it feels like we're working in a little bubble, but your comments remind me of the unseen impact screenings have). Good luck to all, viva documentary!

I've been lurking for a few months, but I figured it's time to make my membership official... My name is Nels Bangerter, I'm primarily a documentary film editor (freelance) and I just moved from D.C. to New York, so I'm looking to rebuild a little community.

I was the editor of "War Child," which won the Audience Award for features at Tribeca last year, and I just finished working on Joe Wilson & Dean Hamer's documentary "Out in the Silence", which I think might be familiar to D-Word members. And back when I was in Los Angeles (before D.C.) I edited "Cine Manifest," a feature doc about a memo-crazy 1970s San Francisco-based Marxist filmmaking collective that imploded because of overly contentious idealism and rampant "criticism/self-criticism." Hopefully no resemblance to the D-Word...

I make documentaries and sad little comedies with a small team called Castparty Productions. I also did an experimental narrative feature last summer, for which I'm in the process of doing a director's cut.

We've begun periodic shoots of a local activist hero, for a doc that may or may not turn out to be feature-length, along with working on a feature-length musical. I guess you could say we're touching all the bases.

HI. Sailesh Dave from Bombay, India. Currently producing Prime Time TV shows and small spoof movies for clients like MTV, STAR TV network etc. Have always been passionate about documentaries and want to start by making some. Need advice on what are the latest market trends, sales agents, international format requirements, technical specs etc. Thanks.

Welcome, Sailesh. Best thing you can do is spend some time reading the various through the various topics here and use the search engine and tags to get at specific questions you might have. There's a handy Help function that will explain things, too, if need be.

Hi All – I've worked on a few documentaries before as editor and composer, but am making my first as a director/producer now and am looking for different resources and communities to help answer some of the questions and snags I'll encounter along the way.
I'm in the grant writing stage of the process now...
looking forward to participating here.
Matthew Dougherty

I'm producing and directing my first documentary, "To Them That's Gone", along with three partners. The film is about the Run for the Fallen, an apolitical memorial project that traveled across America last summer to honor service members killed in the Iraq War. We are now in post-production and the fundraising continues.

I'm proud to say we just launched our website and new promo piece at www.tothemthatsgone.com. I'd be honored if you would watch the piece, and any feedback would be greatly appreciated (email below).

My prior experience includes picking up a few tricks while assisting Doug Block for a stretch, during the production of "51 Birch Street"; and assisting/shooting additional footage on "Jacques d'Amboise in China", which recently aired on HBO.

Hello, Everyone. After a small break, I'm back. The look of D-Word has changed a bit (for the better I'm sure). I commute into DC from Md (60 miles each way). I work for the Govt during the week (a steady paycheck) and help those that I can, any chance I get. I've 20 + yrs experience and if I don't know something, I probably know someone who does. Wishing you all the best.

Hi, my name is Pierre Samuel Rioux, do not expecting a perfect English from me... i am a French Canadian native.
This is my project i am working on.
Guédelon le chantier médiéval.
I am a Quebecer but i shot this film in France... It's about a group of man and women building a 13e century castle today the way they do it at this time. The doc have 50 minutes running time. I like to follow this adventure and try to find the way to do a kind of co production.The first one it's made and it's in the final post.
This is wy i am here, i am also a www.dvprofessionals.com member and
a www.Konvas.org member this one is about people how using Russian lens lomo and Camera.